President’s Message: Lucky 13!
As we embark upon a new year – 2013 (lucky 13!), I look back in amazement at how much our Stirling team has accomplished over the last twelve months.
We started the year with the acquisition of Avant Properties in Shreveport, Louisiana and capped it off with our recently announced joint venture development deal with CBL Properties of the Fremaux Town Center in Slidell, Louisiana.
In between those two milestone bookends, consider the following list of other accomplishments:
- The kickoff of Mid-City Market in New Orleans.
- The historic redevelopment of the American Legion Building into a state of the art Walgreens Drug Store on Magazine Street in New Orleans.
- The opening of The Fresh Market on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.
- The $24 million acquisition of Tiger Manor Apartments in Baton Rouge.
- The securing of two new Walgreens development deals in Terrytown & Gulfport.
- The opening of Sam’s Club at River Chase in Covington.
- The successful closing of over $100 million in financing.
- The increase of over 16% of our commercial brokerage volume.
And while all of this was happening, we were also able to implement a new, state-of-the-art accounting software, introduce a brand new corporate website and complete a major restructuring of the company.
These accomplishments are all tributes to the outstanding team of professionals at Stirling Properties. We are now setting our sights on an outstanding new year and plan on making some additional major announcements soon. 2013 will certainly be a banner year – and lucky too.
Mid-City Market – January Update
Framing Walls and Slab at Winn-Dixie – 1/12/13
Steel Framing, Slab, Site Work at Retail A/B – 1/8/13
Since last month’s update, we have moved forward rapidly in the site and building construction at Mid-City Market. At Winn-Dixie, despite the rainy weather, we have poured almost all of the concrete slab for the building with the remainder to be poured this week. We have constructed two of the exterior load bearing metal stud framing walls and after the third wall is constructed, we will be erecting structural steel on the outside of the building.
At the former retail building we are renovating, we have completed the metal stud work at the perimeter entrances. We are finalizing the preparation for roof work which will be underway this month. The two small-shop buildings fronting Carrollton are progressing quickly as well. The “Retail B” building slab was poured Saturday and the “Retail A” building slab will be poured by the end of this week. Over the next two weeks the metal stud framing of the walls in both buildings will take place and be immediately followed by structural steel.
We are excited to announce that we have executed a lease with LA Nail Spa for 1,551 square feet in one of the small shop buildings. We are seeing strong leasing activity for the remaining space and are working towards opening 100% occupied, while seeking the right tenant mix for long-term success.
Stirling Properties and CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. to Develop Fremaux Town Center in Slidell, Louisiana
Development Over 70% Leased Prior to Construction Start
COVINGTON, LA and CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – January 15, 2013 – Stirling Properties and CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE: CBL) today announced the formation of a 35/65 joint venture to develop Fremaux Town Center in Slidell, Louisiana. Once complete, the 80+ acre site will consist of two phases. Phase I will comprise approximately 295,000 square feet with anchors including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michaels, T.J.Maxx, and Kohl’s. Phase II will include up to 300,000 square feet of additional retail space. Construction is set to begin on Phase I in March of this year, with the grand opening scheduled for the second quarter of 2014.
“Stirling Properties is excited about our partnership with CBL & Associates Properties to develop Fremaux Town Center and believes that this joint venture brings the best possible team together to build this project,” said Stirling Properties’ Senior Vice President of Development Townsend Underhill. “We believe this site has the characteristics to become a premier retail shopping destination and we are happy to continue our long and successful history of retail development in the City of Slidell.”
“Stirling Properties has a solid reputation as a leading retail developer in southern Louisiana and we are pleased to partner with them on this project,” said Michael Lebovitz, CBL’s Executive Vice President – Development and Administration. “Fremaux Town Center is well-located and is already well leased with an outstanding retail line-up. We are looking forward to announcing additional retailers as the development progresses.”
Fremaux Town Center Phase I is currently more than 70% leased with committed retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michaels, Kohl’s, PetSmart, T.J.Maxx, LongHorn Steakhouse, dressbarn, ULTA Beauty, Lane Bryant, Rack Room Shoes, Best Buy and Versona Accessories. Fremaux Town Center will be located on more than 80 acres at the southwest corner of Interstate 10 and Fremaux Avenue in Slidell, LA. Slidell is the largest municipality in St. Tammany Parish on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain near the city of New Orleans. The area has experienced significant growth following Hurricane Katrina. With its interstate location and high-visibility, Fremaux Town Center is expected to become a regional destination. Stirling will lead the development of the project and CBL and Stirling will jointly lease and market the center.
For leasing information, please contact Ryan Pecot by telephone at 337.572.0246 or by email at rpecot@stirlingprop.com.
About CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
CBL is one of the largest and most active owners and developers of malls and shopping centers in the United States. CBL owns, holds interest in or manages 163 properties, including 95 regional malls/open-air centers. The properties are located in 27 states and total 91.8 million square feet including 9.4 million square feet of non-owned shopping centers managed for third parties. Headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, CBL has regional offices in Boston (Waltham), MA, Dallas (Irving), TX, and St. Louis, MO. Additional information can be found at cblproperties.com.
Stirling Properties to Develop Full-Service Walgreens Drugstore on New Orleans Westbank
Stirling Properties is pleased to announce the development of a new full-service Walgreens drugstore in Terrytown, Louisiana on the Westbank of New Orleans. The proposed Walgreens will be located at the intersection of Terry Parkway and Carol Sue Avenue on the site of the former A&P Grocery/Eckerd Drug anchored shopping center. The new store will be a relocation of the existing Walgreens located across Terry Parkway. “This project represents a cooperative effort between Stirling Properties and Jefferson Parish to bring back a distressed commercial property to prominence once again as a viable retail corner that will serve the people of Terrytown”, said Peter Aamodt, Vice President of Development for Stirling Properties.
The larger 17,384 square foot store will have a drive thru window and full service pharmacy and will serve as a catalyst for future development to help revitalize an aging retail corridor. Construction on the Terrytown store is slated to begin in April and open in the fourth quarter of 2013. Stirling is providing pre-development services, including lease negotiation, permitting, financing, design, as well as construction and project management.
As a preferred developer for the Walgreens Company in the Gulf South, Stirling Properties has had a long-standing relationship with the retailer. Construction is currently underway on two other Stirling Properties Walgreens developments located on Magazine Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, and on Pass Road in Gulfport, Mississippi.
For more information, contact Peter Aamodt, Vice President of Development for Stirling Properties, at paamodt@stirlingprop.com or by calling (504) 523-4481.
Hammond Square – New Manager, New Town
Relocating from Atlanta to the Northshore of New Orleans, Louisiana to manage a shopping center in Hammond for Stirling Properties is a pretty big culture shock; however, it does help a bit that I am from the New Orleans area originally.
In my new position as the Hammond Square Property Manager, a large part of what I am looking forward to is meeting and learning about the tenants at Hammond Square. This will be the first time I have the stores Kay Jewelers, Zales, Charming Charlie, Maurices and many local merchants as tenants.
From what I have learned in my first two weeks, Southeastern Louisiana University and North Oaks Health System are a big part of the Hammond economy; meeting with representatives from those two institutions will be a 2013 priority. Hammond will be an interesting place to learn more about the economy, the importance of Hammond Square to the area, and the successful events put on by the Downtown Development District.
I can only hope that this blog will help me learn more about Hammond, Tangipahoa Parish, and the surrounding areas. In turn, I would like to share my knowledge about Hammond Square and the area with others. If all goes well, this can be a win-win situation!
Shop in Tangi! Shop Hammond Square!
Walgreens on Magazine – Update 12/26/12
With the holidays upon us, Magazine Street is buzzing and so is the Walgreens construction site. The interior work now revolves around finalizing all the sheetrock work, floor preparation for italian tile, electrical services and the placement of the American Legion Medallion Logo. When we first looked at the development of this building it was clear from the beginning that the heritage of the American Legion Post should be maintained in the final form of our new store. One piece of the original building is the old terrazzo floor medallion that was carefully lifted out of the floor, and is now being prepared to be repositioned near the rear entrance of the parking lot. This will be a striking feature as you enter the building and will highlight the high level of standard of our Nation’s Armed Services. The frontage along Magazine Street is now complete with the brick vineer and precast stonework and will now see the final detail work of stucco. It will not be long before the scaffolding is down and it will be a beautiful sight.
